Pubdate: Thu, 03 Feb 2011 Source: Sacramento News & Review (CA) Copyright: 2011 Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact: http://newsreview.com/sacto/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/540 Author: Rudy Venegas Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n040/a01.html NOT MEDICINE, NO MATTER WHAT Re "Puff piece" by Nick Miller (SN&R Feature, January 20): After reading Nick Miller's take on so-called medical marijuana, I felt compelled to ask: Why is it so all-important to alter one's God-given ability to be of normal mind? Why do these stoners believe that they are doing themselves good? I am not convinced that its use is the way to medicate yourself. What cannabis does do is make you forget your pain while you are stoned out of your mind! How can these folks explain to their children the false benefits of using an illegal drug to cope with life? If it's so harmless, why not get your kids started early? Then they won't "suffer" as much as you do! Stoners are stoners. They stand out and can be smelled a mile away. It really is a shame and embarrassment to our society and our communities to see people under the influence. It's not a rosy picture to know that not only do we have drunks committing crimes, but some of these folks are also under the influence of marijuana as well. No matter how much I read about this topic, I cannot accept or believe that marijuana is [anything] more than a mind-altering party drug. It has no other benefit than to put one in another frame of mind. Rudy Venegas Citrus Heights - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom